1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a conveyor system and more particularly to a slider bed conveyor system for allowing longitudinal and lateral movement of a longitudinally moving conveyor of a fixed length.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conveyors of numerous designs have been used in the past to transport articles from one area to another. Known conveyors have employed endless belts, segmented slats, slider beds and other elements to move objects along their path of transport.
A slider bed conveyor is typically made in a fixed conveyor length and consists of a channel-shaped section or plurality of sections for supporting an endless belt conveyor. Typically, a slider bed conveyor is cut to a predetermined length or size and includes a sliding surface and opposing conveyor walls that form the channel shape that supports the belt conveyor. Additionally, a plurality of conveyor sections may be welded together or manufactured to the desired slider bed conveyor length. These rigid conveyors frequently cross joints in buildings such as expansion joints and seismic isolation joints. Slider bed conveyors and their conveyor sections are generally non-adjustable and do not allow for freedom of movement when crossing building expansion or seismic isolation joints. These joints induce strain on the conveyor, particularly slider bed conveyors with endless belts, as they try to stretch or compress the fixed length conveyor. In the past little has been done to address the movement in the building versus the conveyor resulting from expansion and seismic isolation joints.
Other conveyor systems have been proposed which utilize a plurality of slider bed conveyors placed in series to manufacture the desired slider bed conveyor length. In such a system, each slider bed supports separate endless belt conveyors. This multi-sectional, multi-belt conveyor is typically constructed of a drive section and a plurality of driven sections, which can be added as required to lengthen the conveyor system. The drive section is provided with a motor. The power of the single motor is transmitted to the driven sections by use of a power transmission system. Many such systems are known in the art, with the most common being the drive shaft systems and the belt drive systems. Additionally, the use of a coupler, employing gears may be used to transmit power from section to section. The use of drive shaft systems, belt drive systems, couplers and gears may also be problematic when crossing building expansion or seismic isolation joints.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved slider bed conveyor system that accommodates irregularities in the path of the conveyor system due in part to building expansion or seismic isolation joints and provide improved operative features relating to performance.